…
Several minutes earlier…
Ognist carried Taizun on his shoulder, helping him walk while Scias walked in front of them. Together they reached the place where Zeugen was.
"Oh my, Zeugen my boy!" Ognist panicked upon seeing his junior in his dragon form, unmoved and unconscious. He deliberately dropped Taizun and rushed towards the fallen dragon.
"UWAAH!" Taizun yowled as he tumbled and rolled a bit on the ground. "Dammit, barbecue head, why the heck you dropped me like that?!"
"Bla, bla, you're looking great as ever, Taizun. Your bud here is terrifyingly concerning!" Ognist retorted. Taizun can only stare him blankly and silently.
"Zeugen! Zeugen, you still there?" he rubbed the dragon's head and patted him numerous times while rapidly asked that question over and over until the steam dragon excreted a steam of breath from his nose.
"Phew… what a relief," said Ognist gladly. Scias beside him hopped on Zeugen's back and examined thoroughly. It didn't take long for him to notice some blood on the dragonian's hide. The blood was dry and strangely frozen as if exposed to extreme cold.
"I d-don't think he's in a g-good shape…" he stated with his eyes slightly squinted.
Having a hardship of getting up, Taizun told him, "Well… yeouch… ouoh… that's because he was nearly lanced to death. Though, he was actually lanced."
Everyone else was stunned.
Quickly, Ognist hopped over the unconscious dragon's body and discovered what Taizun told. He fumbled a few times while on the way up. He discovered that some ice—particularly those made from mana energy as he viewed it.
"I had to freeze the flowing blood. Ah, but don't worry, I only freeze the flow from ever getting out of his body."
Ognist looked at his junior colleague with squinty eyes, "Ice elementalists can do those types of things?"
Followed by Scias, "Yeah, I've never heard or even s-seen ice magic performed in such way, either."
"Oh, that? Well, it's a trick I learned from that snow head, Eznor. A useful one, that is," Taizun explained.
"Amazingly done, Taizun my boy," Ognist complimented. "Hm… Eznor, huh, that good boy, where is he now I wonder… it's been over a year since we last met…"
"Enough reminiscing barbecue head," Taizun nagged. "We must turn Zeugen back into his human form so that we can carry him out of the battlefield. Though his bleeding stopped, but if he's still here, he's vulnerable to that demon general."
Scias in his wondrousness asks while maintaining a straightforward face.
"How?"
…
..
.
Several moments later, the three had progressed slightly. Zeugen still hadn't regain consciousness and remained in his dragon form. Though it appeared that way, they had succeeded in moving the steam dragon from the frozen area.
After reaching some distance, Ognist paused and talked to Scias.
"Hey, Mister," he called upon the human whose height slightly taller than him.
Scias in his usual demeanor turned his head at the fire dragon and gave a silent answer.
"Is it okay to let that little kid fight that being? I mean, that's a demon general she's facing," Ognist remarked.
"Why did you concern her now?" Scias coldly asked back. "We g-gave our consent to her to fight the demon general alone while we move this 'friend' of yours to s-safety. I believe you would not change your mind so quickly, Sir Ognist."
Suddenly, Taizun commented from the other side of the steam dragon's body, "You'd expect barbecue head to live up to his words?" he asked fervently only to be continued directly by Ognist.
"—it is only curiosity, Sir Scias. I wonder if it is really okay for her to fight him alone."
Scias let out a long breath. He stared into the barely decorated night sky and murmured, "Pio Perenitzia… she looked like a simple girl in her early teenage years…"
"I'm sorry, I can't hear you clearly," Ognist said while cupping his hand around his ears.
Scias closed his eyes as the gust wind glided above his facial skin. As the wind accomplished, he stated, "Never mind. I'm just talking to myself," he stated. "As of Pio…" he then looked at Ognist.
"…Give her some trust. She will succeed."
Scias went on a few steps ahead of Ognist and then added, "Her mission is only to draw that demon's attention from us. If she said she can do it, then she will succeed. It is important to believe in your colleagues, no?"
"Well… it's true but…"
"If you judge her because of her childlike appearance, then that's where you're wrong. Well, if you really concern of her safety, then we must be punctual, because tonight…
…we exterminate the demon."
…
..
.
"Got you, now, HAHA!"
The demon's hand changed form into a large drill. With utter fierceness, he aimed for her neck. But as he thrust towards her, Pio mutters, "This is as far as I could, huh?"
Pio cuts her ropes and quickly slides beneath the impending strike and avoided the piercing hand of Toma Zil. The demon's hand drilled through the dirt, destroying them quickly. The girl's weapon has met the earth. Pio's primary weapon is gone, but she didn't think of it as her loss. She keeps on fighting.
Since long range is no longer viable, she resorted to go onto close quarters. With only a knife, she dashes through the field and attacks the demon general. But Toma is highly reflexive now. He quickly reshapes his hand into sword-like and parries her incoming attack.
Pio gets blown back several meters because of the demon's slash being excessively powerful. But she manages to land safely, and gets back into battle stance almost quickly.
"Pio is in a bad position… that creep has a longer weapon than Pio. Can… can Pio defeat him…?" she mumbled to herself as the tense increases around her shoulders.
"What a persistent brat you are…" Toma commented. "And that persistency will be your downfall."
Pio counters his words, "Pio will not be—
In the next second, Toma instantly boosted himself and charged straight at Pio before she can even finish her words. The shadow demon rammed her with his elbow, causing a deadly blow to her. Not only that, he caught her.
He grabs her around her neck and slowly strangles her.
"See? This is game over for ya. It's time for you to die."
Pio was devastated upon seeing the demon general blasted through the field in an insane speed. She had no time to react. And now, the death door is upon her.
Calmly as the wind blows, the demon general increases the force in his shadowy hands. Pio's eyes begin to crack as if they're going to pop out. She sweats in an attempt to ward off the pain.
"Don't worry. I am a demon of my words. I will slowly destroy you. As time passes, I will crush your neck. I will make you feel the meaning of suffering. And once you're dead…
…I will take your form."
The demon creepily showed his sharp teeth. His eyes appear scarily. Tinting red eyes are staring widely and threateningly to Pio.
Surprisingly, Pio stares him back. Her pupils are somehow changing. But that change does not hamper the demon general from trying to kill her. He stares straight into her eyeballs.
Both of them are morbidly staring to one another.
"What's with her?" Toma wondered in his mind. "Hmph, she must be turning mad as I'm 'bout to kill her. Yes… enjoy your last breaths as good as possible, even though you won't!"
Toma adds the strangle force. "It is only seconds before you die. He-hee-he," the demon chuckled arrogantly.
Suddenly, Pio loosened her muscles. She stopped her attempt to get off the demon's grasp and spoke in a whispering voice.
"Pio always hate demons, like how Aily hate them. Pio hates demons for ruining Pio's life. Demons made Pio and sister separated. Pio hate you, Pio hate all the likes of you."
"…If Pio dies here and you want to look like me…" she said as the demon listened through.
"…To the edges of the world… my sister will chase you down. She will… absolutely kill you."
For a split second, Pio's pupils suddenly took shape of a circle with a triangle in it before quickly returned back to normal.
"T-THAT'S?" Toma's eyes widened. His body shivered uncontrollably. A terrifying fear has fallen upon him. His instincts believed that he must've met Pio somewhere before, but he could not remember it at all. His shadowy form trembles, his grasp on her neck loosened almost quickly and let her fell to the ground.
Toma leaps backwards and gains some distance from her. He quickly shifts his direction to the opposite and stances to escape.
"T-This kid… is dangerous! I… I m-m-must run… NOW!"
With every power, Toma sprints in a hurry. "I must get away from her, as far as possible. My instincts told me I must not go near her. There's something abnormal with her! That symbol within her eyes… I have a feeling I must not mess with her! Run, Toma! RUN!"
Toma's emotions became unstable as he dashes through the dark field. His shadow figure would not be so visible in the theme of night but with him slowly losing sanity, he leaves a trail of black soot, making his escape easily catchable.
But Toma cares nothing about being intercepted or whatsoever, his only goal now is to run as fast and as far as possible from the little girl he just fought. He doesn't even think about where he is going. He's just sprinting, spurring his shadowy feet past his limit. Should there be anyone in his trajectory, he would ram through them.
And unexpectedly, someone emerges right in front of the shadow demon, standing still adorned with silver armor and a long sword in hand.
"Dare you stand in my way? I will smash through you!" Toma shrieked.
But suddenly—
*SLAAAASH*
An instant flash happened. And when Toma realized it, his feet had been chopped off. He fell to the ground and rolled uncontrollably in his high velocity. When he stopped, he groaned angrily, but soon he suffered pain as if he was struck by holy magic.
"This… again…?!" he grunted.
Shortly, the field around him lit up in a ring of fire. The fire grows higher into the height of roughly five meters tall. Toma's shadow body now exposed and became a soft target should he not regenerate soon.
Toma tries to ward off the pain while forcing himself to regenerate as fast as possible. He yowls in utter pain as the injury to his feet felt like salt being added to them, making unbelievably worsening pain that felt endless.
The writhing pain felt never going to end, Toma decides to cut off his legs entirely. The pain finally ends and he took a breather for a moment before two men finally steps nearer.
"How awful it is to cut off your legs completely, eh, dear demon?" the man in armor spoke.
"Hmph, his skin is too easy to slice. As if I'm cutting tofu," the other man spoke.
Toma stares at the two coming from opposite directions. But soon he changed attention to the man in armor only. His anger rises to the point of boiling. In his view, the fire dragonian returned. Unable to hold off his resentment, he shouts out Ognist's race.
"DRAGONIA!!!"